Williamston historical markers

A sign marking the site of the Williamston Female College is located in front of the Williamston Municipal Building.

The sign states the college was founded Feb. 12, 1872, by the Reverend Samuel Lander, D. D., Methodist Minister.

The school was moved to Greenwood, S. C. Sept. 27, 1904, becoming Lander College in honor of the founder, who died July 14, 1904.

The original college building stood on the site until 1939.

Located at the park exit near McDonalds is a Confederate Skirmish marker, stating on May 1, 1865, cadets from the Arsenal Academy at Columbia, under Capt. John Peyre Thomas, who were en route from Greenville to Newberry to be disbanded, met a band of Stoneman’s raiders near here in one of the last engagements of the war, which had begun in Charleston harbor with shots fired from a post manned by cadets from the Citadel Academy. The actual engagement occurred near Shiloh Methodist Church in Piedmont, located in the Williamston Township of Anderson County.

A granite marker located in the park is dedicated to the sacred memory of the confederate dead, Gist Rifles Company D Hampton Legion, Gary’s Brigade Infantry South Carolina Volunteers, A.N.V., C.S.A., 1861-1865, Organized in Williamston Spring Park.

Next to the marker is a stone platform on which a civil war cannon was mounted for display until the early 1970’s. The cannon was removed, placed in storage and eventually refurbished. It can be seen at the National Guard Armory located on Gossett St.